JELLEY’S WOBBLE DENIES HIM WIN
Trouble lapping team-mate gifts Cammish opening victory
Oulton Park was one of the few tracks Dan Cammish didn’t take a double win at last year. And without a misunderstanding between Team Parker team-mates Stephen Jelley and Rupert Martin, he would’ve failed this year too.
The weekend started ominously for Cammish’s rivals as the Redline driver secured a double pole. But former British Touring Car driver Jelley had other ideas. He went round the outside of Cammish at Old Hall from the rolling start and claimed the lead through Cascades.
Cammish was unable to fight back until Jelley came across his Pro-am2 team-mate at the chicane on lap 12. Martin slowed but Jelley had already committed to the pass and was caught out, taking to the grass. Cammish meanwhile swept round the outside to take the lead and win.
“I got a really good start and the first corner – I planned that and it worked perfectly,” said Jelley. “I know it’s hard to overtake here so it was about being consistent. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding with the first car to be lapped.”
Jelley was denied a chance to hit back from the incident when the race was red flagged after Pro-am2 driver Peter Parsons crashed at Island. Redline’s Charlie Eastwood completed the podium.
Cammish was able to keep the lead at the start of race two and soon pulled out a gap over Jelley, eventually winning by eight seconds.
“The key over the past two seasons has been my speed on those first couple of laps – I disappeared,” said Cammish. “Saturday’s win was subdued – he [Jelley] did a good job and he was going to win the race for sure.”
Further back was Dino Zamparelli who rounded out the podium after passing Lewis Plato at Old Hall. It was a bright spot on a difficult weekend for the driver who has been Cammish’s main challenger this year.
“It was a difficult weekend and a case of damage limitation,” Plato admitted. “It’s been a battle all weekend and it was a lost opportunity. We went the wrong way on setup as a team and didn’t test here before.”
Another driver having a tough time was Tom Sharp. The IDL racer finished a lap down in the opener after being hit in the rear. But he was fighting Plato and Zamparelli in race two before a mistake at Lodge meant he ran wide and was shuffled down to eighth.
Euan Mckay was the star in Pro-am1, the In2racing driver winning the class on both occasions. Things were a lot closer in Pro-am2 with Intersport’s Mark Radcliffe triumphing in the opener and Tautvydas Barstys winning in race two.